Beggars would work far better without the distraction of Sympathy. Sure, it anchors the whole album. But after opening with what is undoubtably a monument, there’s nowhere else to go. But without the Sympathy, then Beggars is a really interesting, ragged, almost kooky collection of songs. It captures the comedown of ‘68. Street Fighting Man should be the lead track. It shows that The Stones were once a very dangerous band.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

This is clearly a serious album. It wasn’t recorded with TOTP appearances in mind. It was slightly tedious, tbh. Nothing offensive in there, but it didn’t half drag. Worthy, laboured, lengthy.

⭐ ⭐

A very mixed bag. First up is The Meteors. I was always on the edge of the psychobilly scene in ‘84 into ‘85, without ever fully living the lifestyle. Sure, I had the flat top. I even had the brothel creepers. But I still had a soft spot for Spandau Ballet and so couldn’t quite LIVE the dream.

I’m being drawn closer to all things psychobilly and rock ‘n’ roll in general as I approach my seventh decade. The flat top has long gone. I’ve been building up a collection of brothel creepers over the past six months or so. The Meteors are pure rock ‘n’ roll with a punk attitude. I wish the psychobilly scene would make a comeback.

The Ozrics meanwhile are never going to be assessed favourably when it comes to style. There’s always been a secret prog love to my musical tastes. I find this music ideal as the working soundtrack. I can take it all in, without being distracted by the lyrics. It floats over you, whilst still being able to create some very different moods.

A bit like Abdullah Ibrahim’s Water from an Ancient Well. I knew nothing about Abdullah until this dropped in the 1,001 albums list one morning. It’s South African jazz, and a most joyous sound. Anything that puts a smile on my face these days is welcome in my CD collection.

This album oscillates up and down, both in mood and on the musical scale. The guitars are so stretched out that it must be impossible to score what is being played on a music sheet. I think that is the least of concerns of the Mondays. It’s all about the attitude. Pills, Thrills has bucket loads of front. It swaggers from start to finish. Walk it like you talk it. Not a musical masterpiece, but certainly an album to turn to if you want to puff your chest out.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

This is stunning. It captures the shift from soul to funk, without ever becoming guilty of falling into all the blaxploitation cliches. At the centre of this is the bass, which holds it all together. The sax solos, harmonicas, and even the stretched out instrumentals - it’s music for music sake. We need more uplifting albums like this for our times. SAULT currently fill the gap, but I could do without all the God stuff.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Thisis raising a much needed smile this morning, the Gay Jamaica Independence Time compilation. It was a heads up first thing from R. He’s very good at sourcing these ska and blue beat albums. From what I can gather, Arthur Duke Reid is involved in the production of all the tracks. There’s a some familiar early riddims that would later surface as reggae staple songs. It was released recently on Cherry Red. Keep smiling. Yep.

Short and sweet. Just the blast I needed to kick start the morning. Look a little deeper beyond all the dumb ass punk attitude and there’s a little more going off here. Musically, Minor Threat are very good at what they do. They understand the genre and its limitations, but push it a little further. Sounding DIY, but playing with skill - it’s a tricky feat to achieve. Impressive.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

This sounded far too manufactured and false. Sure, I hear your social concerns. But it’s hardly What’s Going On, sung from the heart. The Jam and Lewis production never fails, no matter the artist. But I wanted a little more soul and meaning. I wanted authenticity, and not album sales.

⭐ ⭐

It’s been FORTY THREE years since the magic of Into Battle with the Art of Noise has been banging around in my head. Forty three chuffing years. Blimey. And now I’ve finally got a copy on CD.

I still proudly own the cassette EP that I first bought from Selectadisc back in the Fair City in 1983. It was the first official release on ZTT. I have vague memories of seeing a video on The Tube the night before, and taking a punt.

That cassette has long since been knackered and worn out. I rinsed it to death on an old Walkman whilst carrying out a paper round for a year or so. I remember it being such a cinematic sound as I walked around the family village, shoving some free sheet shit through the letterboxes as the light faded.

The CD that landed this morning contains the glorious 23 minutes of the original EP, plus 17 other tracks to stretch out the release. The beats still sound industrial, yet somehow soulful. Moments in Love remains LUSH.

Atomizer is a very rhythmic album, and not the clusterfuck of noise that I was expecting. It even sounds a little like Nu Rave, some twenty years too early. I swear I heard some bagpipes. Big Black had some soul. They just didn’t want you to know it.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐